Poor Ruby had to get a canine tooth removed on Friday, so she's on soft food for a couple of weeks. She went on a hunger strike rather than eat her usual dry food soaked in water, so we tried canned last night. What do you know, she likes it. Although it is expensive, it's short-term, and I can live with the cost.

However, I'm wondering if the feeding recommendations on the can are accurate. I purchased three different kinds for her to try (Nature's Variety, Blue Buffalo sensitive, and Hund-n-Flocken), and their recommendations range from about three to six (!!!) cans per day for a dog her size.

She weighed 58 pounds at the vet's on Friday, but we like to keep her closer to 55. If we feed her a can in the morning and a can in the evening, are we starving her?? 6 cans of food seems like a ridiculous amount.

Canned foods can vary greatly in calorie content. I would follow the recommendations on the can for each individual brand. Its just a few days, most mouths are healed in 5-7 days and they can have dry food again after that.

3-6 is probably right. Keep in mind canned food has a very high water content so they do need to eat quite a bit to get enough nutrition. I would just go with what it says to feed and worry about weight after this is over. 1 week of a bit too much food really won't make a big difference.